During CES, the ‘Smoked by Windows Phone’ competition was born. In it, a user would try to perform a task on their Android or iOS device in less time than the Windows Phone (which, at the time, was handled by ‘Softie Ben Rudolph.) If they beat the Windows Phone, they receive $100, and if they didn’t, they’d have to acknowledge that their smartphone was smoked by Windows Phone. Since this competition’s inception, it’s gained quite a fair bit of traction, recently becoming a widespread digital ad campaign.

Microsoft is continuing to cultivate the popular competition. For a limited time, Microsoft has brought the Smoked by Windows Phone challenge to their brick-and-mortar stores, and the stakes have been raised. Now, if you do manage to smoke the Windows Phone, you’d win a Hunger Games Special Edition HP Folio 13, valued at around $1,000. And if you lose? You’ll have the opportunity to swap your current smartphone for a Windows Phone (but, unfortunately not a Lumia 800.)

So, in both cases it’s a win-win for participants. But, of course, this is limited to brick-and-mortar Microsoft Stores, which are currently sparse.

I founded and regularly wrote blog posts on GeekSmack from 2008 until 2011, when I failed at running a blog. I now write about Microsoft for Techie-Buzz. When not writing blog posts, I'm usually found designing websites and learning how to code. You should follow me on Twitter here.